The invention relates to a plug-type connector with contact elements which are disposed in an insulating body and are provided with a plug-in contact end and a soldering-connection end, the said soldering-connection end being constructed for surface mounting on a circuit board, and the said invention also relates to a method of manufacturing a plug-type connector.
For the purpose of improving the transmission properties in the case of high-frequency signals, plug-type connectors are provided with contacts which are suitable for surface mounting, satisfactory coplanarity of the contacts with respect to the soldering points on the circuit board being necessary.
From EP 0 846 350, a method of manufacturing a connector with coplanar contact faces for surface mounting on a circuit board is known, in which contact elements which have already been bent beforehand are inserted in contact-receiving slots in a casing and, after insertion, all the contact elements are aligned together in a coplanar manner by a tool.
Also known, from EP 0 757 849, is an electrical connector whose electrical contact sections, which are disposed in an insulating casing, have outwardly protruding soldering ends-whose formed-on surface-mounting contact faces, on narrow constricted portions which are provided for the purpose, are aligned in a coplanar manner by means of a tool after the mounting of the individual contact sections has been completed.
In the known methods of manufacturing plug-type connectors, relatively expensive procedures and a number of working steps are always necessary in order to align the soldering connections of a plug-type connector in a coplanar manner for surface mounting, for example by angling the contacts singly by means of a deflecting tool, and then, again individually, fitting them into a casing and aligning them.
In the course of equipping a circuit board with plug-type connectors which can be surface-mounted, the soldering-connection ends are usually dipped into a soldering paste and then soldered to the soldering faces on the circuit board under the action of heat. In order to ensure perfect soldering, the soldering-connection ends must touch the soldering paste, for which purpose, however, coplanar alignment of the soldering-connection ends in relation to the soldering faces on the circuit board is necessary.
The underlying object of the invention is to construct a plug-type connector of the initially mentioned kind to the effect that the soldering-connection ends have satisfactory coplanarity and the plug-type connector can be manufactured in a simple and cost-effective manner.
This object is achieved through the fact that the contact elements have, between the plug-in contact end and the soldering-connection end, opposed clearances forming a constricted portion, and that the contact elements are deflected, in the region of the said clearances, via a side which is not provided with a clearance.
An advantageous method of manufacturing a plug-type connector of this kind is indicated in claim 2.
The advantages obtained with the aid of the invention consist in the fact that, because of the constricted portion in a designated region of the contact element, the bending stress is compressed in the region of smallest cross-section so that, in the course of a deflecting operation, the contact element is bent over solely in this constricted region, even without a special deflecting edge.
What is of particular advantage in the proposed method of manufacturing a plug-type connector is that a number of working operations are dispensed with, the contact elements which are connected together on a contact-carrier strip being introduced directly into corresponding receiving apertures in the insulating body of a plug-type connector, and fixed therein. The contact-carrier strip is then removed and, in a next working operation, the soldering-connection ends of the contact elements are bent over and aligned in a coplanar manner.
An exemplified embodiment of the invention is represented in the drawings and will be explained in greater detail below. In the said drawings:
FIG. 1 shows a sectional representation, in perspective, of a plug-type connector with angled soldering-connection ends,
FIG. 2 shows a top view of a contact-carrier strip with contact elements,
FIG. 3 shows a sectional representation, in perspective, of the plug-type connector with straight soldering-connection ends and a contact-carrier strip,
FIG. 4 shows a sectional representation of the plug-type connector with slightly angled soldering-connection ends, and
FIG. 5 shows a sectional representation of the plug-type connector with aligned soldering-connection ends.